1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information providing or distribution system, and more particularly to an information providing system suitable, for example, for a simplified portable telephone system.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 13 is a conceptual illustration of a prior information providing system. A portable terminal 11 such as a portable telephone has the ability to accept a network service a radio communication enterpriser offers and to gain access through a network 14 to a database 15 or a center 16. In addition, a public telephone 12 is also accessible through a public network 13 to the same database 15 or center 16. In order for a subscriber (user) to a given information providing system to attain the currently necessary information, as shown in FIG. 13, commonly the subscriber uses the portable terminal 11 to gain access through the network 14 to the database 15 or employs the public telephone 12 to obtain access through the public network 13 to the database 15. In response to the user accessing the database 15 and making a request thereto through the use of the public telephone 12, the database 15 retrieves given service information according to this request and transmits it through the public network 13 to that public telephone 12. On the other hand, when the user uses the portable terminal 11 to have access to the database 15 for a given request thereto, the database 15 also retrieves given service information according to this request and sends it through the network 14 to the portable terminal 11. At this time, the line between the database 15 and the public telephone 12 or the portable terminal 11 the user is now using stays in the connecting condition until the database 15 replies to the user.
Secondly, a description will be made hereinbelow of a taxi taking system being one example of an information providing system in which the user transmits his present location and the information, the user needs, to the center 16 and the center 16 transmits the necessary information to the present location. The user who wants to take a taxi uses the public telephone 12 or the portable terminal 11 to establish a contact with the center 16 of a taxi company for taking a taxi. In response to the contact from the user, the center 16 of the taxi company makes communications with the taxis belonging to this company and selects one taxi taking into consideration whether or not the distance to the user's present location is the shortest or whether or not the user's location lies in the route and then informs the user of the arrival time of that taxi.
However, in the case of the above-described prior information providing system, in many cases the user does not know the telephone number of the center 16 and, hence, needs to find out the telephone number of the center 16 using a means such as a telephone book unrelated to this information providing system. In addition, since the center 16 separately exists at every enterpriser, in cases where, for example, one center 16 turns down the offer of the given information or service to the user, the user has to continuously make a request for the offer of the necessary information or service toward centers (not shown) different from the aforesaid center 16, which is a great burden on the user.
Furthermore, in cases where the user requests the offer of desired information from the center 16, the conversation condition therebetween reluctantly continues until the center 16 sends its reply to the user, with increased charge or fee and deteriorated condition in economics. Still further, if the access charge to the database 15 is determined on the basis of the use time, it can come to a relatively large amount. Moreover, since the center 16 can not know the user's present location until receiving it from the user, the user needs to tell his present location on all such occasions, which is also a great burden on the user.